What Are the Steps in Animation Planning and Production?

Animation is full of magic. Not only do children love watching animations, but many adults are also often captivated by them. As a result, many companies choose to use animation as part of their events to increase attention. To accomplish this, animation planners and producers often spend weeks or even months of effort.

The first step in animation planning is the planning phase itself, which comes in two forms. In the first, a business owner or person in charge is attracted to a particular film or animation and wants to incorporate its elements into their promotional activities, so they commission a professional animation planning and production company to create the animation. In the second, the animation planning team develops an animation concept based on the specific needs of the client, then revises it according to client feedback until it meets their requirements.

Once the animation plan is complete, the production phase begins. The characters, animals, props, and other elements from the plan are handed over to keyframe artists, who draw the key moments of each action for these characters. Animators, as assistants to the keyframe artists, are responsible for making the actions fluid. They insert the intermediate frames between the keyframes to complete the movement, which is known as in-betweening. Producing an animated film involves many stages, and if any stage fails to meet the required standards, it will affect the subsequent work. Therefore, each phase should have a person responsible for quality control.

Next comes the shooting and production stage: the photographer shoots each frame, which is sometimes called "assembling the reel." Then, voice-over, music, and sound effects are added. The sound quality of an animation is extremely important.

Finally, the animation planning and production company delivers the finished animation to the client for a test screening. The client reviews and evaluates it. If they are dissatisfied with any aspect, the animation is sent back for revisions until the client is satisfied. A good animation should enhance the atmosphere of the event, gain audience recognition for the company, and ensure the successful completion of the event.